I think we're already into some tipping points, Sentient Biped, because the amount of CO2 we've pumped into the atmosphere is already enough to get us to a 1 1/2 degree C rise (we're at 0.8 degrees C now). It takes time for the CO2 to have its full effect.

So far, we've raised the average temperature of the planet just under 0.8 degrees Celsius, and that has caused far more damage than most scientists expected. (A third of summer sea ice in the Arctic is gone, the oceans are 30 percent more acidic, and since warm air holds more water vapor than cold, the atmosphere over the oceans is a shocking five percent wetter, loading the dice for devastating floods.)

...computer models calculate that even if we stopped increasing CO2 now, the temperature would likely still rise another 0.8 degrees, as previously released carbon continues to overheat the atmosphere. That means we're already three-quarters of the way to the two-degree target.

In fact, study after study predicts that carbon emissions will keep growing by roughly three percent a year..."The new data provide further evidence that the door to a two-degree trajectory is about to close," said Fatih Birol, the IEA's chief economist. In fact, he continued, "When I look at this data, the trend is perfectly in line with a temperature increase of about six degrees." That's almost 11 degrees Fahrenheit, which would create a planet straight out of science fiction. [emphasis mine]

To get a better idea of what the world would be like at 2 degrees and at 6 degrees hotter, use the interactive video at Six Degrees Could Change the World. You will notice that 6 degrees C means the collapse of civilization and the oceans starting to become toxic. This is pretty much what Peter D. Ward also said about 6 degrees in Under The Green Sky.

Keep in mind that climate refugee settlements near the Arctic Circle would also have to deal with the radiation from every nuclear facility worldwide blowing up because the cooling pumps have no power... civilization collapsed. No teams spraying water, like at Fukushima, just everybody running. That's one hell of a legacy for our generation to bequeath.

We are on the cusp of a tipping point in the climate. If the global climate warms another few tenths of a degree, a large expanse of the Siberian permafrost will start to melt uncontrollably. The result: a significant amount of extra greenhouse gases released ...

The Siberian permafrost is a particular danger. A large region called the Yedoma could undergo runaway decomposition once it starts to melt, because microbes in the soil would eat the carbon and produce heat, melting more soil and releasing ever more greenhouse gases. In short, the melting of Yedoma is a tipping point: once it starts, there may be no stopping it.

For the first time, we have an indication of when this could start happening. Anton Vaks of the University of Oxford in the UK and colleagues have reconstructed the history of the Siberian permafrost going back 500,000 years.

... the melting of Yedoma is a tipping point: once it starts, there may be no stopping it.

For the first time, we have an indication of when this could start happening. Anton Vaks of the University of Oxford in the UK and colleagues have reconstructed the history of the Siberian permafrost going back 500,000 years. We already know how global temperatures have risen and fallen as ice sheets have advanced and retreated, so Vaks's team's record of changing permafrost gives an indication of how sensitive it is to changing temperatures. [emphasis mine]

That is what I am reading. Humans who, in their hubris, think the Earth exists to serve man continues the old bromide of dominion. Man shall have dominion over all that swims, crawls and flies. Well, humans do not have dominion, never have and never will.

My experience with people who believe in a god believe they know right from wrong. That is so far from the truth I want to laugh/cry.

So, enjoy today for all that it offers,

differentiate hate-mongers from discerners,

share with gusto the beauty of the Earth,

be fully conscious of my existence,

pump out information about climate change to all that will heed,

fight with all my might for things that matter, and

know my atoms will be dancing with those of Newton, Darwin, and Feynman.

Humans who, in their hubris, think the Earth exists to serve man continues the old bromide of dominion. Man shall have dominion over all that swims, crawls and flies. Well, humans do not have dominion, never have and never will.